, by every means at his command, to continue their vile and
degrading occupation; holding on all the time to the ears of Dicky and
Noel, who scorned to ask for mercy. Dicky got purple and Noel got white.
It was Oswald who said--

'Don't hang on to them, sir. We won't cut. I give you my word of
honour.'

'YOUR word of honour,' said the gentleman, in tones for which, in
happier days, when people drew their bright blades and fought duels, I
would have had his heart's dearest blood. But now Oswald remained calm
and polite as ever.

'Yes, on my honour,' he said, and the gentleman dropped the ears of
Oswald's brothers at the sound of his firm, unswerving tones. He dropped
the ears and pulled out the body of the fox and held it up.

The dogs jumped up and yelled.

'Now,' he said, 'you talk very big about words of honour. Can you speak
the truth?'

Dickie said, 'If you think we shot it, you're wrong. We know better than
that.'

The white-whiskered one turned suddenly to H. O. and pulled him out of
the hedge.

'And what does that mean?' he said, and he was pink with fury to the
ends of his large ears, as he pointed to the card on H. O.'s breast,
which said, 'Moat House Fox-Hunters'.

Then Oswald said, 'We WERE playing at fox-hunting, but we couldn't find
anything but a rabbit that hid, so my brother was being the fox; and
then we found the fox shot dead, and I don't know who did it; and we
were sorry for it and we buried it--and that's all.'

'Not quite,' said the riding-breeches gentleman, with what I think you
call a bitter smile, 'not quite. This is my land and I'll have you up
for trespass and damage. Come along now, no nonsense! I'm a magistrate
and I'm Master of the Hounds. A vixen, too! What did you shoot her
with? You're too young to have a gun. Sneaked your Father's revolver, I
suppose?'

Oswald thought it was better to be goldenly silent. But it was vain.
The Master of the Hounds made him empty his pockets, and there was the
pistol and the cartridges.

The magistrate laughed a harsh laugh of successful disagreeableness.

'All right,' said he, 'where's your licence? You come with me. A week or
two in prison.'

I don't believe now he could have done it, but we all thought then he
could and would, what's more.

So H. O. began to cry, but Noel spoke up. His teeth were chattering yet
he spoke up like a man.

He said, 'You don't know us. You've no right not to believe us till
you've found us out in a l